Soul for a Girlfriend?

"Second year." I replied, and Naoto looked at me with a subtle smile, almost as if she was smiling through her eyes and added, "He is… also my boyfriend."

"Wha… what?" That guy's eyes grew wide as he looked at me and then over at Naoto. I could tell that his reaction was similar to what Ryuhan's was, but he was utterly speechless. Naoto chuckled at this as she added, "We started going out last week."

"You're dating an underclassman?" He asked, and I replied instantly with a question of mine, "Is that a bad thing?"

Though people who are not used to talking with me get me wrong, mostly because of my bitter tone. I knew that it sounded rude as he immediately shook his palm to defend himself with an awkward smile on his face.

He looked at nervously and said, "No I didn't mean it in that way… I'm sorry if that offended you."

"Don't mind him, Dai, he just talks like that." Looking at him in trouble, Naoto stepped in and said while glaring at me, as I let out an awkward chuckle and sighed, "Oh no, I'm not offended. Chill."

Looking at him, I could tell he was a good dude. And the fact that he was her cousin cleared every possibility of him being a threat to me.

Noticing the location of the Cafe, I couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you live close to the school?"

She nodded, pointing across the street and said, "Yes, my home is just around the corner."

Following her gaze, I noticed which direction she was pointing at. It appeared like I would have to cross the road again as I also pointed in that direction and asked, "That one?"

"Yeah…" She nodded. I remember that she lived close to the school, so I was a bit curious about how close she was referring to. Well, looking at it at that moment, she actually lived quite close. She can probably live 5 minutes before and still won't get late.

Lucky!

I noticed Daisuke looking at us intently as I turned towards him because it felt like he had something to say, but was feeling awkward about cutting in on our conversation. He noticed my gazes and smiled, "By the guys, if you ever go on dates, come to my cafe."

"Oh, shut up!" Naoto rolled her eyes as she playfully punched in on the shoulder and he laughed, while his timing and presence of mind genuinely impressed me.

I couldn't help but praise his attempt at self promotion with a thumbs up gesture, "What a smooth promo."

"I know, right!" He returned the thumbs up gesture with a bright smile on his face. Naoto turned towards me with an annoyed face and said in an irritated tone, "Saishi, don't start with him."

"No, I was just impressed by how smooth he was." I said, laughing awkwardly. Also, noticing how he casually used my first name without feeling awkward or anything. I guess that's the difference between someone experienced in a relationship to someone inexperienced like me.

I chuckled at that thought, as the line between fiction and reality was always a formidable one. Relationships described in books are literally different from what I was experiencing at that moment. 

Without being nervous, or at least without showing my nervousness on my face, I took my left hand out of my pocket and held Naoto's hand and asked, "Anyway I'm walking towards that direction, so let's walk together."

As I was quite close to her, I could tell she was actually shocked for an instance as my hands touched her because she jumped and looked at me in surprise. 

A frown formed on her face, as it looked like she was processing my offer. Soon she looked at him and smiled as she raised her hand to wave at him, "Oh… that's great, actually. See you later Daisuke!"

As we started walking in the opposite direction to cross the road, Daisuke yelled, "Make sure to treat me to ramen next time!"

Naoto turned around and outright denied that dude of his ramen with an evil smile, "In your dreams!"

As we're walking while her hand was still in mine, she looked at me and asked, "Where did you come from?"

"No, where… I was walking home and noticed you." I glanced at her and replied in the usual bland tone, but it seemed like she was expecting to hear something else. She kept looking at me intently and asked, "And?"

"Nothing in particular, just curious." I replied as she let out a very disappointed, "Oh…"

"I was curious who you were talking with." Looking at her, I could tell that she was expecting to hear something else from me, as she again smiled cheekily and asked, "Were you jealous?"

"Shut up."

She was smiling even more now as she leaned towards me and asked in an amusing tone, "So you get jealous too?" 

I just gave her a bored look, and she rolled her eyes with a sigh and asked, "By the way… it's the first time we're walking home together."

"We shared an umbrella." I said, recalling the moment when there was no one except us in the school and it was pouring really badly, but she whined, "Oh that was lame."

Naoto was pretty normal, like other girls. She also had a silly side to her, which I was glad that she showed to me, but now that I was dating her, it wasn't much of a feat. 

We were walking in silence as I looked and asked softly, "Is everything alright with you?" 

She nervously looked at me and replied in a hesitant voice, "Why do you ask?"

"You look pretty stressed." I answered as she just smiled and said in the most sensible tone that I've heard all day from her, "I'm completely fine, don't worry if something is wrong. I will surely tell you."

"You aren't the type of person to actively tell your problems to others." Narrowing my eyes at her, I said, and she pouted and averted her eyes while complaining under her breath, "That's not true."

"You're stubborn." I said, and she looked at me and retorted, "Shut up! Have you seen yourself?"

I just shook my head in disappointment as she continued, "You're edgy!" 

We crossed the road and kept walking as she suddenly glanced at me and asked, "Also let go of my hand… It's awkward…"

I shifted my glance towards her and looked at her black pearls staring into me as I replied without thinking twice, "No."

"Huh? Oi!" Confusion was apparent on her face as I softly smiled at her and said, "I like holding your hand."

"Wh… what? Why?" Her eyes grew wide, as her cheeks were covered in a tint of red. Being flustered, she instantly looked away from me as I chuckled and replied, "I don't know."

We just kept walking in silence, as there was some unsaid tension between us and her fingers slowly wrapped around mine and she remained looking towards the road without saying a single word.

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